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An air hostess or a cabin crew member is a person who takes care of the passengers on board. They are also known as steward/ stewardess. They may be employed on a jet aircraft or a military aircraft. The flight attendant is however different from the people in the cockpit such as the pilot. Their primary function is to ensure that the passengers have a comfortable and a safe flight. Before every takes off, they give certain safety instructions to the passengers on board. They tell them about the emergency exits and facilities like AC’s, oxygen masks, life jackets, etc. Heinrich Kubis (German) was the first flight attendant in 1912. He was on board when the flight burst into flames and survived by jumping out of the window.
The first female flight attendant was Ellen Church who was employed by United Airlines in 1930’s. After her, a lot of women took this as their career and now, most of the air hostesses that we see are women. They are selected not only because they have knowledge but also because of their characteristics. There was a time when airlines used to think that employing pretty females would persuade people to travel in their Airbus and would help increase their profit. Female sexuality, was thus, considered as a very important factor.
Also Read : What are the qualifications and physical requirements required to be an Air Hostess?
There are certain physical qualifications that the flight attendants have to fulfil. These apply to men and women both. Different airlines have a different minimum age limit for a cabin crew member. It may be 18 years in some cases while 21 years in some other. They also have minimum height criteria to be followed by the members. The height should be such that the crew members have no difficulty in reaching the top cabins and taking out stuff from there. The weight should also not be a hindrance in any way. They should have a good vision to be able to see the things clearly. The flight attendants are trained under the same environment as they have to work in. they are given the training to be patient, calm and petite. They are supposed to handle things carefully by ensuring maximum safety to the passengers. Safety training includes things like emergency passenger evacuation, in-flight fire fighting, etc.
Promotion of an Air Hostess
After 2008, the demand for air hostesses has increased everywhere. Air travelling has now become affordable even for the middle-income group people. The average tenure of an air hostess has also increased to 16 years and is still increasing. The number of applicants applying for the job is increasing day by day, so the competition in the industry is becoming very stiff. The applicants who have a bachelor’s degree in customer service and delivery are most likely to be recruited. Promotion in this field takes longer than before as the tenure of the air hostesses has increased and the experiences members prefer to stay longer than before.
The promotion ladder of a cabin crew member moves from a reserve status to a senior air hostess, to lead air hostess, to a check air hostess, to a supervisor, to a base manager, then finally to the manager of in-flight operations. Some members of the crew are also transferred to other departments such as the human resources or the risk management department.
There are degrees that air hostesses hold. They may either be a proper degree, a diploma or a certificate course. The better the degree held by the candidate, the better is the chance of him/her getting promoted to a higher level job. A good internship and impressive Curriculum Vitae may go a long way in the promotion of a steward/ stewardess.
Salary/ Remuneration of an Air Hostess
Flight attendants who have greater experience get a higher salary than the ones with less experience. Also, the ones with a higher level job earn more. The average salary of an air hostess ranges between $23130 and $88997 per year. This is the salary of the flight attendant who has experience and has been in the field for many years. The salary of the members with one to four years of experience lies between $15289 and $46721 per year and that of members who have been working for more than four years lies between $19806 and $61933 per year.
The cabin crew working in corporate flights receive the highest salary while those in the commercial airline flights receive the second highest. Air hostesses also get additional perquisites such as bonuses and incentives, life insurance, pension plans, paid sick leaves, etc.
Therefore, this career has reached heights during the past few years. People prefer to enter this industry because of the salary and the kind of adventure one gets while travelling. Also, the air hostesses experience the thrill of travelling to different countries with different cultures and traditions and get paid for it. Thus, people are happy to choose this as a career option.
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